Like Father Like Son: Jeff Lutz and Jr. Prepare to take on Drag Week!

Jeff Lutz is one of the biggest names of HOT ROD Drag Week, best known for Mad Max, his street-driven 1957 pro mod. This year, he’s bringing an all-new 57 built using everything he has learned from campainimg two other cars, making subtle changes to perfect it as a purpose built, street/strip drag car.

Last year we saw Lutz prove that you can in fact drive a pro mod on the street reliably (or at least reliably enough to get the job done) and also lay down blistering, yet consistent, quarter-miles times low enough to win the event. This time around his goals have changed a bit, and while he still expects his times to be deep into the six-second range and possibly even dip into the 5s, his main goal is just to finish Drag Week with his own car and focus more on helping his son Jeffery fly in his rear-wheel-drive Honda Civic. Lutz Jr. competed in last year’s Drag Week in his 1989 Honda Civic powered by a twin turbo, 434ci small-block Chevy running a best ET of 8.309 on the first day of competition, and an average time of 8.549 for the week. After some time dialing-in the suspension, swapping to a different tire, and modifying the car to run on alcohol, Jeff is hopeful that Jr. will be able to run mid-6s in the car during competition this year and end up somewhere near the top three overall for the week.

Jeff made it clear to us that his main goal is not to win Drag Week and instead wants to make it a family event. However, we know that he never goes out on the track without giving it his best shot, and his new car definitely has the capability to put him at the top of the leaderboard. We’re excited for both Jeff and Jeffery to get their cars dialed-in and see if they can bring a father-son smack down to the rest of the competitors.

Jeff Lutz warms up the tires on his freshly built racecar at Beech Bend Raceway during the Tri-Five Nationals this year.Jeffery Lutz and his copilot inspect his rear-wheel-drive Civic during one of the drives on last year’s Drag Week.Jeffery Lutz makes a pass in his twin-turbo Civic during Drag Week 2016. He expects a lot more out of the car this year.